Garamendi tops Congress in private-sponsor travel

FAIRFIELD — Travel in 2013 by Rep. John Garamendi cost private sponsors about $70,000 – the most spending on trips for any U.S. congressional representative.

Assemblyman Dan Logue, who’s running against Garamendi for Congress, says the travel to three foreign countries diverts Garamendi’s attention from problems here and in the rest of California that include unemployment and the drought.

Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, has been in public office for 40 years and part of a system where taking junkets is common, Logue said. The state assemblyman also said the travel, part of congressional trips analyzed by Washington, D.C., based-Legistorm, shows Garamendi believed winning another term was assured.

“When he took the trips, I think he thought he had a cakewalk,” Logue said.

“He’s realizing,” Logue said, “that this is going to be a tough fight.”

Garamendi, who represents the 3rd Congressional District that includes Solano County, went with his wife Patricia to Sudan in February, Turkey in April and Ethiopia in August, according to the U.S. House of Representatives travel filings database that Legistorm used to analyze congressional trips.

“These visits did not cost the U.S. taxpayer a single dime, but they did provide Congressman Garamendi with valuable opportunities to advance America’s foreign policy and national security,” the congressman’s office said in a written statement. “Congress needs leaders who are willing to learn and to share America’s story with the rest of the world.”

Garamendi serves on the House Agriculture Committee, which sets policy for the Food for Peace program, and was able to evaluate this and other agricultural assistance programs, the statement said.

He also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over U.S. military forces serving in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, the Middle East and around the world, noted the statement. Garamendi said he met with the foreign minister of Ethiopia, the president of Tanzania and the vice president of South Sudan, who is now involved in that nation’s civil war.

Legistorm, an online source for congressional staff salaries, trips and gifts, said lawmakers in Congress and their staff members took nearly 1,900 trips costing $6 million. That’s a record for the most privately funded trips since 2007, when reforms began after abuses by since-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who took officials to sites that included golf courses in Scotland.

The $70,000 figure by Legistorm for Garamendi’s travels includes airfare, lodging, meals and security.

Mary Boyle, spokeswoman for the nonprofit Common Cause that advocates for accountable government, said the three countries Garamendi visited suggest the importance of the trips.

“None of them sound like vacation hot spots,” she said.

Boyle added that destinations, as well as what work may have been undertaken, help indicate whether travel involves a junket. Bringing a spouse, Boyle added, “also can be – not necessarily – an indication that it’s more of a boondoggle.”

“Common Cause believes congressmen should get out of Washington, D.C.,” Boyle said, “and see the world.”

“The concern is that special interests flying members of Congress around the world are getting an up-close audience,” said Boyle, who added that the public lacks such access.

Craig Holman, legislative representative for Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that says it seeks to champion citizen interests before Congress, said the destination of trips matters less than the sponsor.

Congressional representatives get good accommodations when they travel, Holman said.

“He’s not staying in a shack in South Sudan,” Holman said of Garamendi.

The travel forms submitted for the congressman’s travels includes stays at Hyatt hotels during his South Sudan trip, at the Sheraton in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for $312 a night and at the Marti Istanbul Hotel in Turkey for $298 a night. The website for the Marti Istanbul states, “Enjoy being cosmopolitan in the heart of Istanbul” and touts the 11-floor hotel as “Turkish hospitality at its soaring best.”

Holman said the Aspen Institute Congressional Program that sponsored Garamendi’s trips to Turkey and Ethiopia is an education effort and “really doesn’t want anything out of Congress or Garamendi.”

“They don’t have business pending before Congress,” Holman said.

The House of Representatives form completed for Garamendi’s trip Aug. 9-19 to Ethiopia notes that the congressman and his wife served in that country for their Peace Corps volunteer years and that the two were using personal time to visit schools and a village there.

Approval from the Committee on Ethics for the travel to Ethiopia noted that the trip includes four days at Garamendi’s personal expense. The Aspen Institute program relates to Garamendi’s work on the House Armed Services Committee, the form states. Sponsorship by the Aspen Institute includes support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, according to the House of Representatives.

Travel to Turkey was by business class on a commercial airline. Travel in South Sudan included a charter flight at an expected cost of $2,253 per person. The nonprofit charity CARE sponsored the South Sudan trip. A representative of the charity said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation paid for the travel.

Steven Radelet, a Georgetown University professor who was among speakers at the conference in Ethiopia, said he spent a lot of time with Garamendi and other congressional representatives during trips to villages.

“We were not in any fancy town,” Radelet said. “We went to an elementary school.”

“These members of Congress learned a lot,” he said, “at no cost to Americans.”

The professor had this to say of Garamendi: “He’s very knowledgeable.”

Radelet spoke about the importance of the United States’ role in Africa, where he said AIDS drugs provided by the generosity of U.S. taxpayers have saved 6 million lives.

Radelet said of a trip to Sudan that, “It’s no place you go for a holiday.”

“That’s a tough, tough place,” the professor said.

George Guynn Jr. of the Central Solano Citizen-Taxpayer Group said costly travel by public officials persists.

“It’s totally out of control,” he said. “It’s the same way at the local level.”

Guynn referred to travel spending by the Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District, which the Solano County grand jury reported in May cost $135,169 between 2010-12 and included conferences in Monterey and Newport Beach.

“The only thing I think they’ve learned is they can get by with it,” he said of travel by officials.

Guynn questioned the justification that such travel is warranted because it provides officials with information for public policy decisions.

“You can come up with some kind of lame excuse for anything,” he said.

Public Citizen representative Holman said a separate trip – not part of the $70,000 in travel Garamendi undertook – taken to Google in Mountain View by Christopher Austin, acting chief of staff for Garamendi, represents the corporate-sponsored travel the watchdog group opposes.

“That is problematic,” Holman said of the August travel that cost of $1,171. “They want something,” he said of Google.

Congressional staff members hold a lot of influence on congressional representatives, Holman said.

The one-day, Aug. 27 program required two nights of lodging because of trip logistics, Austin said in his House of Representatives form about the travel. He said it’s important to be informed about contributions to the state economy by one of California’s leading companies. The House Ethics Committee said because the trip sponsor employs a federal lobbyist, Austin could participate in official activity on only one calendar day. The trip included a day at Austin’s expense.

Google in its form for the House of Representatives said it invited chiefs of staff for all of California’s congressional representatives to its global headquarters in Santa Clara County. The “American Innovation” event included a demonstration of Google Glass technology and the driverless car known as Project Chauffeur, according to the travel form.

Garamendi’s office said in its statement that, “Technology is a major engine for job growth in Northern California and the 3rd District is home to many technology businesses.”

“It’s helpful for our staff to be as knowledgeable as possible about technology policy and opportunities to create more jobs for our constituents,” the statement reads in part.

Mike KirchubelFebruary 08, 2014 - 9:34 am

Mr. PracticalFebruary 08, 2014 - 9:46 am

Mike, it wasn't bait but since you asked... Number one, is supporting the ACA, possibly the worst legislation in recent history. He was on the the wrong side of HR 4, HR 910, HR 1229, H. AMDT 411, HR 2587, HJ RES 2, HR 3094, HR 527, HR 436 and HR 8 for a start. He has continually voted to delay economic recovery.

Mike KirchubelFebruary 08, 2014 - 1:45 pm

Ok, Mr. P, I looked at the list of items you put out as "proof" Garamendi was doing "great harm" in Congress. With Obamacare, we disagree, that's a given. I don't agree the proposition that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant or that we should have re-opened the Gulf of Mexico to drilling before safeguards were in place. I disagree with you on the N.S.A. spying on Americans citizens without justification; I don't think they should, but I can see if you feel the need for added "protection." I don't think the National Labor Relations Board is a terrible entity or that they should be stripped of their authority, likewise, unions are not monsters that should be killed, they serve a function to protect American workers from abuse. As you know, I think that trying to balance the budget in the middle of a Great Recession is not a good idea, George W. Bush could have achieved that by simply leaving the tax code alone and not starting two wars. and finally, what is wrong with taxing capital gains at 20%? Why should I be taxed at a much higher rate for actually working? If this is your proof that "He has continually voted to delay economic recovery," I would respectfully disagree.

Salty DogFebruary 08, 2014 - 11:36 am

Mr. PracticalFebruary 08, 2014 - 11:47 am

Salty, it doesn't matter if Mike responds. His disagreement is inherent. He'll continue to support Obamacare even though there are now over a half million less people insured in California than there was when Covered California opened for business. Apparently he doesn't care if people die.

The MisterFebruary 08, 2014 - 8:27 am

Many overseas poverty-stricken countries have a very flourishing underage prostitution industry. Many people from the west take "sex vacations" to these poor countries. Perhaps Garamendi was investigating some of those activities.

LarryFebruary 08, 2014 - 9:11 am

The MisterFebruary 08, 2014 - 10:17 am

Unlike you, Larry, I don't hide from the evils in the world. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke. Larry, looks like you are doing your best to let evil triumph.

CD BrooksFebruary 08, 2014 - 12:31 pm

Mike KirchubelFebruary 08, 2014 - 11:07 am

Great. Do you really think you found a strong quote that supports your extremely weak, prejudiced assumption? Edmund Burke is not interested in helping you justify the wild, unsupported accusation that leaked through your mind and onto the everlasting world-wide web.

Puddin TaneFebruary 09, 2014 - 10:03 pm

Mike KirchubelFebruary 08, 2014 - 9:23 am

Three trips and you get a front page hit piece from the D.R. with comments from his opponent and george guynn. I wonder who made the most "publically sponsored" trips at taxpayer expense. This could just as easily been written as a supportive piece, praising the congressman for his efforts to actually understand some of the tough problems our U.S. Congress faces, but, unfortunately, Garamendi is a Democrat.

@ MikeFebruary 08, 2014 - 9:33 am

Can you get Mr. Garamendi or staff to read Web of Debt...The Public Bank Solution, No More National Debt, and Vile Acts of Evil?........I do not know about Mr. Garamendi.....but I think Bill and Hillary Clinton ( remember the Clinton Death Lists and Waco ) and Bill Gates, close friend and Bridge partner of Warren Buffett...... are evil.... I definitely do no agree with some of the comments above, but if I were Mr. Garamendi I would be very careful who I associate with.

StR....Google...August 21, 2013 - ACDI/VOCA .....Do not know if this is good or Bad......But I do know that the Globalists want to control everything....and that they through The Club of Rome and Bill Gates....do want to reduce world population, by devious means...

(StR) I have yet to see a good expose of what The Aspen Institute (Liberal Think Tank) is all about. When you check out some key personnel such as Walter Isaacson, who apparently did a puff piece on Avril Harrimen ( an Illuminati worker, who kept the Soviet Union going, ? ran it while Stalin was ill ) see Book at Amazon..........The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made with a new int Paperback by Walter Isaacson .......summary of book......A captivating blend of personal biography and public drama, The Wise Men introduces six close friends who shaped the role their country would play in the dangerous years following World War II. They were the original best and brightest, whose towering intellects, outsize personalities, and dramatic actions would bring order to the postwar chaos and leave a legacy that dominates American policy to this day: Averell Harriman, the freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt’s special envoy to Churchill and Stalin; Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who was more responsible for the Truman Doctrine than Truman and for the Marshall Plan than General Marshall; George Kennan, self-cast outsider and intellectual darling of the Washington elite; Robert Lovett, assistant secretary of war, undersecretary of state, and secretary of defense throughout the formative years of the Cold War; John McCloy, one of the nation’s most influential private citizens; and Charles Bohlen, adroit diplomat and ambassador to the Soviet Union.........Moral of Story another Illuminati Think tank, ( A "Liberal" one....objective control the entire world, preparation for The New World Order.....If Mr. Garamendi is involved this much with the Aspen Society, then I would have to say that contrary to what he said at a Campaign event "That there is no Agenda 21 in this Administration" would have to be a knowingly false statement. Have to leave now...really check out the key people involved in the Aspen Institute

( StR ) and check out Robert K. Steel...former head of Wachovia.....Google...New York City Power 100 cityandstate....would possibly have some 9/11 tie ins.....Prior to his 2010 appointment as Deputy Mayor, Steel was the President and CEO of Wachovia. From 2006 to 2008, Steel was the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Prior to entering government service, Steel spent nearly 30 years at Goldman Sachs, ultimately rising to become co-head of the U.S. Equities Division and Vice Chairman of the firm. He is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, and has distinguished himself as Chairman of Duke's Board of Trustees, Chairman of the Aspen Institute's Board of Trustees, Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a member of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion, Chairman of The After-School Corporation, and Co-Founder of SeaChange Capital Partners, an organization dedicated to helping nonprofits grow. See the Democrat Liberals are definitely in on 9/11 also...................................

( StR ) Google.....Something You Won’t See on CNN Cliff Kincaid — April 7, 2006 Accuracy in Media.....Aspen is headed by Walter Isaacson, the former Chairman and CEO of CNN and the Managing Editor of Time Magazine. Aspen participates in something called the Ethical Globalization Initiative (EGI), headed by former U.N. official Mary Robinson, who calls the International Criminal Court, which could prosecute and imprison U.S. citizens, a “great legal enterprise.” Isaacson serves on the EGI board, along with global tax supporter Jeffrey Sachs, an adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.....also talks about Soros relationship to Aspen Institute

Mike KirchubelFebruary 08, 2014 - 10:49 am

Here's an idea, let's look at the Congressmen who spent the most TAXPAYER money on junkets. Wouldn't that make a more interesting article? The Herald-Tribune's investigation showed that: * California Republican Dana Rohrabacher billed the government for the single most expensive trip, a seven-day excursion to Germany in January 2012 that cost taxpayers $38,382. * Former Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., was the most traveled, spending 58 days overseas visiting at least 18 countries at a minimum cost of $67,000 to taxpayers. Funny how that info never made it into the hit piece.

Mr. PracticalFebruary 08, 2014 - 12:08 pm

MIke, the DR is a local paper and this is a local article. Garamendi is our Congressman. Rohrabacher is from Coronado and Dreier is from Missouri. Why would the DR mention them? George, I hear ya. Transparency is the key. We need to able to see where every dollar came from so we can see if inappropriate influence takes place. As far as Mike, his responses are completely predictable. He is the single most partisan person that comments here. In the few instances I agree with him, I have to go take a shower afterward.

Mike KirchubelFebruary 08, 2014 - 12:54 pm

Mr. P, Garamendi is a U.S. Representative and as such, he must vote on things that not only affect us here in Fairfield, but on the national and international arenas as well. I'm glad he took those trips and I'm also glad he didn't use taxpayer money to do so. This article should have more properly been in praise of our Congressman, but instead, they quote George and his Republican opponent for "background." "Fair and Balanced" springs to mind.

George Guynn, JrFebruary 08, 2014 - 11:14 am

Komrade Kirchubel, what does Murray Bass taking trips at his own expense have to do with the above article, other than you don't like his column? Mr. Practical, when corporations and individuals get special treatment and laws passed for providing trips, gifts, and funds, you should be very concerned! Most people pay taxes, but only some benefit. As for the connection to local politicos in this article, it shows that many politicos are on the take for free trips, gifts, etc., just like their fed counterparts! Please vote NO the next time they are up for election!!!!!

The MisterFebruary 08, 2014 - 12:13 pm

George, the next time Murray goes on vacation, I think the government or some mega-corp should pay me to follow Murray to make sure he's not spending his money foolishly. After all, it must be against the law to impersonate a Congressman.

Mr. PracticalFebruary 08, 2014 - 12:20 pm

The Mister, I was at a state legislative conference reception about 15 years ago. There was a table with name badges for the legislators that were scheduled to attend, that included name, title and district. When we left, myself and two others grabbed name badges for three California state senators. We put them on and went to a strip club. The story gets better but too many of us our still living to tell it.

Mike KirchubelFebruary 08, 2014 - 12:46 pm

George, do you really think these trips to these "dream destinations" were anything more than informational? Do you think that a U.S. congressman should not go to areas where we are spending our national treasure and lives and find out what is happening on the ground? Would you be happier if he spent taxpayer money doing that? These are not your typical junkets to Paris and Rome. Why don't you tell us all what you think Garamendi was doing at these places and what toll CARE and the Gates Foundation were trying to extract from him? Other than the three trips, this whole article is innuendo and one candidate bashing another. Sad.

BAREASSMEAGAINFebruary 08, 2014 - 1:12 pm

Rich GiddensFebruary 08, 2014 - 1:40 pm

Congress has to travel to investigate and inform as per their Article One responsibilities. But when that excessive travel is sponsored by globalist billionaires seeking favor, then that is clearly not in our interests or advancing our economy and security. Such excesses must be exposed and curtailed.
Congressman Garamendi! ---you are clearly more beholden to non-citizens, non-taxpayers along with globalist billionaires then you are the citizens, taxpayers and common people. Congressman Garamendi! You just want to be all things to all people and you accomplish that cowardly end by just shoveling our money at anything proposed without setting limits or priorities. If there is to be largesse shoveling, then let it be to those who paid in blood to keep our nation free! It seems if there are to be fiscal priorities, you always seem to give the GI and Veteran short shrift as you slight them! J'accuse! Why don't you limit welfare, food stamps and other UNEARNED entitlements to illegal aliens along with foreign aid to dictatorships? But we know the reason for your lack of loyality-----you just want to cling to power at our expense!

( StR ) "Leneleyaye" Ethiopian Movie......Life is filled with so many twists and turns and no two directions are the same. There are moments that inspire, and some we’re simply forced to endure. Then, there is one magical moment that changes you forever.
‘Leneleyaye’ tells the story of a young man, Manny, whose life has been greatly affected by a tragic past. The strength of his mother and the special bond with his next-door neighbor, Merry, helped him transition from a disheartened boy into the responsible young man he is today.....I have not watched this but it looks interesting...

Mike KirchubelFebruary 08, 2014 - 9:34 pm

Thank you, Representative Garamendi, for taking your time. money, and effort to learn about the real world. I'm sorry about the hit piece. I think most people can see it for what it is, the others were never going to vote for you anyway.

Mr. PracticalFebruary 09, 2014 - 6:10 am

Mike KirchubelFebruary 09, 2014 - 9:43 am

Mr. P., Im not StR; I wrote that for the benefit of the editors and all the yahooies who comment here. The bottom line here for me, our political comments aside, is that this was a blatant hit piece with no effort to provide an honest assessment of the situation. To have George Guynn and Garamendi's opponent comment without any rebuttal and putting it on the front page instead of the opinion page, is just bad journalism. Bad form, D.R., bad form.

Mike, actually Logue's comments are appriopriate given the upcoming election. They solicited a response from Garamendi, so it was balanced. Printing George's comments regarding a local matter that involves taxpayer funded travel is apples and oranges, while a valid topic on it's own, but was inappropriate for this article. Again, I agree that in this case, Garamendi's trips are much ado about nothing. Logue would be better served focusing on Garamendi's many valid faults.

Y can I not get this to post....tenth time a charm?...I will try not posting the link......Here goes...Google….Read it…….The Case Against Henry Kissinger Part One The making of a war criminal by Christopher Hitchens Harpers magazine, March 2001.......Then see this puff piece book on Kissinger by Walter Isaacson..... Kissinger: A Biography Paperback by Walter Isaacson ....By the time Henry Kissinger was made secretary of state in 1973, he had become, according to the Gallup Poll, the most admired person in America and one of the most unlikely celebrities ever to capture the world's imagination. Yet Kissinger was also reviled by large segments of the American public, ranging from liberal intellectuals to conservative activists. Kissinger explores the relationship between this complex man's personality and the foreign policy he pursued. Drawing on extensive interviews with Kissinger as well as 150 other sources, including U.S. presidents and his business clients, this first full-length biography makes use of many of Kissinger's private papers and classified memos to tell his uniquely American story. The result is an intimate narrative, filled with surprising revelations, that takes this grandly colorful statesman from his childhood as a persecuted Jw in Nasty Germany, through his tortured relationship with Richard Nixon, to his later years as a globe-trotting business consultant......So a puff piece about war monger extraordinaire Henry Kissinger...and these guys run the Aspen Insitute?

http://www.bilderberg.org/kissing.htmFebruary 09, 2014 - 10:12 am

Google....Henry Kissinger - war criminal on the run? - World's alleged number ......or In General Google....Henry Kissinger war criminal...or kissinger will be arrested in these countries and the United States is still the Bully doing the work of
Regime Change for the Luciferian Rothschild Global Banking/Corporate system. all the dangerous work of dedicated CIA operatives was actually for the benefit of the Illuminati who are now setting the US up to fall...We have all been duped by Lucifer Worshipping Demons.....TIME TO WAKE UP PEOPLE.....TIME TO WAKE UP INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES WORLD-WIDE....are all of you dedicated to evil....I think not....

http://www.kycbs.net/Jupiter-Island.htmFebruary 09, 2014 - 10:33 am

( StR ) This one is interesting also...The Vampires of Jupiter Island - The Catbird Seat .....The Averell Harriman connection to building up Nasty Germany and to Yalta accords giving the Communist block countries to Stalin.....and the head of the Aspen Institute writes puff pieces about them....See Liberal Think Tank.....Conservative Think Tank....all are paid for by Illuminati controlled Rockefeller/Soros/Buffett-Gates Foundations.....a tag team effort by Liberal and Conservative Think Tanks to take us into The New World Order....Republican/Democrat....same same